Constitutional Tender for Tennessee?

Sen. Bill Ketron has introduced a resolution in the Tennessee General Assembly that will create a committee to study creating an alternative currency for Tennessee in the even of a collapse of the Federal Reserve. SJR0098 is an important step towards bringing constitutional tender to Tennessee.

When our Founders wrote the Constitution, in Article I, Section 10 they wrote “No State shall … make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” The reason for this is that historically fiat currencies, that is currrencies not made of or backed by gold and silver, always collapse. The United States currently uses fiat currency in the form of Federal Reserve Notes that are not backed by gold or silver.

SJR0098 pending before the Tennessee General Assembly recognizes this and seeks to ensure the economic viability of the state in the event of a collapse of the Federal Reserve. The resolution states:

WHEREAS, the protection of the lives, health, and property of Tennessee’s citizens, and the preservation of good order in the State, depend upon the maintenance of both an adequate system of governmental finance and a sound and robust private economy; and

WHEREAS, an adequate system of governmental finance and a sound and robust private economy cannot be maintained in the absence of a sound currency; and WHEREAS, the present monetary and banking systems of the United States, centered around the Federal Reserve System, have come under ever-increasing strain during the last several years, and will be exposed to ever-increasing and predictably debilitating strain in the years to come; and

WHEREAS, many widely recognized experts predict the inevitable destruction of the Federal Reserve System’s currency through hyperinflation in the foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS, in the event of hyperinflation, depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System, for which the State is not prepared, Tennessee’s governmental finances and private economy will be thrown into chaos, with gravely detrimental effects upon the lives, health, and property of Tennessee’s citizens, and with consequences fatal to the preservation of good order throughout the State.

The Tenth Amendment is cited in key portions of the resolution.

WHEREAS, pursuant to Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of and the Tenth Amendment tothe Constitution of the United States, each State must make gold and silver coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; and

WHEREAS, under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, § 5118(d)(2), and perforce of Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of, and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to, the Constitution of the United States, Americans may employ whatever currency they choose to stipulate as the medium for payment of their private debts, including gold or silver, or both, to the exclusion of a currency not redeemable in gold or silver that Congress may have designated “legal tender”; and

WHEREAS, under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, § 5118(d)(2), and perforce of Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of, and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to, the Constitution of the United States, the citizens of Tennessee may choose to employ as the medium for payment of their private debts whatever alternative currency, consisting of gold or silver, or both, that the State may adopt in the exercise of “the police power”;

The resolution then proposes a joint committee of the Tennessee General Assembly to study the possibility of an alternative currency for Tennessee. Three Representatives and three senators would make up the committee, each member appointed by the speaker of each chamber. The committee will report its findings to the Tennessee General Assembly no later than February 1, 2012.

According to the Tennessee General Assembly web site, the resolution has been referred to the Senate Delayed Bills Committee. This committee is where all study resolutions originate. This resolution is crucial to protecting Tennesseans in the event of a meltdown of the Federal Reserve. It is critical that we begin contacting members of the Senate Delayed Bills Committee and urge them to move on this resolution, as well as Sen. Bill Ketron to thank him for his sponsorship of this SJR0098.

One thought on “Constitutional Tender for Tennessee?”

Why don't the States simply inform the Federal Government that the States will not be able to pay the Federal Government until they once again begin circulating gold & silver coins. Since the States have NO gold or silver coins to pay the Federal Government, the Federal Government will not get ANY payment!
It is against the Constitution for the States to pay in anything but gold or silver. We wouldn't want to break the Law now, would we???